Dress form structure



G. s. HISCOCK 2,985,345

DRESS FORM STRUCTURE May 23, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1958 FIG. 1

Measurement Sheet Date Name Address Measurements:

l' Waist 2- Lower Hip 3' Bad Thickness:

(a) Center Bust (b) Waist (6) Lower Hip 4' Halter (see i 11 5- spread ee Fl .11 7

Color Remarks Signature Number IN iaNTOR. Grace Sumner HISCOCK May 23, 1961 G. s. HISCOCK 2,985,345

DRESS FORM STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 29, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.6

INVENTOR.

Grace Sumner HlSCOCk (J d4 HER ATTORNEYS y 23, 1961 G. s. HISCOCK 2,985,345

DRESS FORM STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 29. 1958 6 Sheets$heet 3 INVENTOR. 54 Grace Sumner HISCOCk BY 0 P W, m,

l 'HER ATTORNEYS May 23, 1961 Filed Aug. 29, 1958 FIG.16

G. S. HISCOCK DRESS FORM STRUCTURE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Grace Sumner Hiscock azmilmk, W

HE R ATTORNEY S May 23, 1961 G. s. HISCOCK Filed Aug. 29, 1958 DRESS FORM STRUCTURE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 III] III

Grace Sumner Hiscock HER ATTORNEYS May 23, 1961 G. s. HISCOCK DRESS FORM STRUCTURE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 29, 1958 INVENTOR Grace Sumner Hiscock BY awk MIRW4LJ7I7&

HER ATTORNEYS United States Patent DRESS FORM STRUCTURE Grace Sumner Hiscock, New York, N.Y. (200 W. 27th St., Odessa, Tex.)

Filed Aug. '29, 1958, Ser. No. 758,082

8 Claims. (Cl. 223-68) This invention relates to individualized dress forms and to improvements in their construction and in the method of making them.

As in the case of my former application, Serial No. 582,216 filed May 2, 1956, now Patent No. 2,894,668, granted July 14, 1959, bearing a similar title, the purpose of the present invention is to provide an individualized dress form which so closely corresponds to the shape, contour, size, posture, and resiliency of the human figure of the individual for whom it is made that dresses, gowns, and other garments can be fitted to the dress form so as to eliminate the necessity for the attendance of the individual for fitting purposes. Also, if the individual desires to make her own garments, the use of the improved individualized dress form saves time in fitting, and is more convenient than attempting to fit the garments to herself.

Although my prior dress form has been commercially successful, the improved dress form and new method of making it have numerous advantages. For example, a more accurate duplication of the individual figure is achieved with considerably less labor and in a shorter time. Also, the time required for taking the impression of the customer is reduced and made pleasanter. In addition, the improved dress form of the present invention is more attractive, more durable, lighter in weight, and contains fewer parts than the dress form of my previous application.

As in the former case, the procedure in taking the impression and constructing the dress form, according to my present invention, commences with the taking of a number of measurements from the person or figure of the customer or individual for whom the individualized dress form is to be made. However, these measurements have been greatly reduced, or, in other words, to about one-third of those required previously.

In accordance with the method of the present invention, a thin but substantially self-sustaining, flexible shell structure is made, corresponding to the figure of the individual, and thereafter there is introduced into this shell a compressible, soft, resilient and easily pierced filling material such, for example, as plastic foam. The shell structure is made up of two or more layers formed of strips of pressure-sensitive tape, that is to say, a tape of fibrous material such as paper, advantageously crepe paper, having a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on one side. One kind of such tape which is suitable for the purpose is commonly called masking tape, and will be hereinafter referred to merely as tape.

The flexible shell structure, instead of being made in one piece, as previously, from the neck to the lower hips, is made in two sections. The lower section extending from the waist to the lower hips is made first and removed from the customer, and then the upper section is made, extending from the neck to the waist. These two shell sections are united at the waist, taking appropriate precautions as to dimensions. After this, in order to Patented May 23, 1961 reduce the interior volume of the shell a formation of stiff sheet material, such as tag stock paper is secured tightly to the peripheral lower edge of the shell. This formation, advantageously in the form of a cone or a frustum of a cone, extends upwardly within the shell to a point somewhat above the waistline.

The shell thus prepared is then placed within a special rack having adjustable dimensioning supports for the front and back, and located respectively at the bottom of the shell, at the waist, and at the bust. These supports are adjustable both vertically and horizontally and are positioned according to the measurements of the customer previously taken. The next step is to pour the interior of the shell with a liquid composition which, when cured in situ, forms a compressible resilient plastic foam. A number of these plastic foams, or foamable plastics, or foamed plastics, are available and are sold under various trade names or trademarks.

To finish the dress form and give it an attractive appearance, a thin layer of fibrous material such, for example, as flock is applied uniformly over its surface, a band of ribbon is applied around the waist, and seam and construction guides of suitable braid are placed vertically in appropriate positions on the surface of the form.

A feature of the improved dress form is a removable shoulder section. A section of one of the shoulder portions is held in position by means of a permanentmagnet, which holds it securely but enables the shoulder section to be removed to allow completed garments to be slipped on and off the dress form.

Additional advantages of the improved dress form and of the present method of making it will be apparent from a consideration of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a chart of the measurement sheet;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a completed dress form;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a cylindrical base member used in making the form;

Figs. 4-6 show the various steps in making the impression of the lower section of the form;

Fig. 4 represents a back view of the lower portion of the trunk or torso of a human figure showing the first steps in making the back portion of the lower section of the impression;

Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the making of the front portion of the lower section;

Fig. 6 is a back view of the lower section of the impression removed from the human figure;

Figs. 7-10 are views showing the making of the upper section of the impression;

Fig. 7 represents a front view of the upper portion of the trunk or torso of a human figure showing the first steps in making the front portion of the upper section of the impression;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 showing the making of the back portion of the upper section;

Fig.v 9 is a side view showing an under arm detail;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 7 showing the later stages of construction of the upper section;

Figs. 11 and 12 are respectively front and rear views of the upper section of the impression removed from the human figure and partially completed;

Figs. 13 and 14 are respectively front and side views of the completed upper section of the impression;

Fig. 15 shows the underarm closure member, this member being shown in position in Figs. 11-14;

Fig. 16 is a back view of the lower section of the impression showing the manner of inserting a conical inner wall member therein; I

Fig. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of the lower portion of the lower section of the impression;

Figs. 18-21 are views of detail parts used in the assembly and support of the sections of the impression;

I Figs. 22-24 are perspective views showing a supporting frame 01" rack and the sections of the impression therein in various stages of assembly;

Fig. 22 shows the lower section of the impression in the supporting frame ready to receive the upper section;

Fig. 23 shows the upper section applied and secured to the lower section;

Fig. 24 shows the united upper and lower sections of the impression supported for the pouring of the plastic foam filling;

Fig. 25 is a perspective view of the filled shell showing the manner of its attachment to the supporting rod;

Fig. 26 is a vertical section of the filled shell shown in Figs. 24 and 25, but With the under arm closures removed;

Fig. 27 is a fragmentary perspective view of the filled shell and of a removed part of one of the shoulder portions; and

Fig. 28 is a diagrammatic view showing the application of flock to the exterior of the filled shell.

When an individual desires to have a dress form made, the measurements, shown in Fig. 1, are first taken. The measurements indicated are clear except for halter and spread. These are indicated on Fig. 11. For these measurements and also for the making of the lower and upper impression sections, which immediately follows, the customer is clothed only in her foundation garments, a girdle being required.

The first step in making the lower or hip section 29 of the impression is to make the cylindrical base member 31), shown in Fig. 3. A strip of sheet material, sufliciently stilt to be self-sustaining, such, for example, as tag stock paper, commonly referred to as tag, is V-notched as indicated at 31 along one edge with notches about 1" deep on a 2" spacing. The presence of these notches enables the base 30 better to conform to the curvature of the body and also eliminates the ridge that would otherwise be present at the junction with the cheesecloth and paper tape to be applied later. Such a ridge would show as a line around the hip of the finished form. The width of this strip of tag stock should be approximately one-half the distance from the lower hips to the waist, the lower edge corresponding to the bottom of the finished dress form. The strip is cut off so as to have a length corresponding to dimension 2 on the measurement sheet, that is, the circumference of the lower hip. The tag strip is then folded into cylindrical form and the two ends are overlapped slightly and joined with staples 32.

The customer then steps into the cylindrical base 30 and it is raised and adjusted in position around the lower hips making it conform to the curvature of the body as above-mentioned. The overlapped ends are placed at the center of the back. A thin flexible or limp material, such, for example as cheesecloth, advantageously in strips 12" wide is then placed around the hips from slightly above the waist and extending downwardy so as to overlap the notched portion 31 of base 30 (Fig. 4). This material forms a thin protective layer 33 over the entire surface of the back and front of the customer and is secured in place by means of a band 34 of tape advantageously 1 /2" in width. A belt 35 of the same material and somewhat narrower is placed around the waist to hold the upper edge of the cheesecloth layer 33 in place.

Strips 36 of the wider tape are then applied across the back of the hips in slightly overlapping relation and commencing at the bottom. The first strip also overlies the band 34 near the top of tag base 30. These strips are applied in substantially horizontal position and parallel with one another and extend somewhat short of the sides of the customer, as indicated at 37.

Tape is now applied over the abdomen (Fig. These strips are applied diagonally, starting from one side of the waist and extending downwardly to the opposite side. Certain strips, such as indicated at 38 and 39, extend downwardly towards the right, as shown in Fig. 5 and certain other of these strips, such as indicated at 40 and 41, extend downwardly from the waist toward the left. Advantageously, the strips may be applied alternately so that they are partially interwoven with one another, but, in any event, the two sets of strips are disposed crosswise of one another, as shown.

The upper ends of the strips are started somewhat to the rear, as shown in Figs. 6 and 16 and are continued partially around the side of the individual, as shown. Some of the strips, such as strips 3841 extend downwardly far enough to overlap base member 30, and the strips are in contact at both ends with the horizontal strips 36 forming the back of the impression. The diagonal arrangement of the strips at the front of the impression has the advantage of conforming closely to the curves of the abdomen.

It is important to have the first series of tape strips applied horizontally for the back portion and to have the first layer of strips applied diagonally to the front portion. The application of strips is continued over both the front and back until the impression is not less than two layers thick. These added strips may however be short strips applied at different angles as shown in Figs. 22-25 to build up thin spots, particularly at the back of the impression. Also it is advantageous to place a final layer of horizontal strips across the front over the first layer of diagonal strips as shown in these same figures. In Fig. 16 however the outer layers on both front and back are laid in the same general directions as the inner strips.

Upon completion of the application of the srtips of tape, the staples 32 are removed from the base 30 and the entire section of the impression is out along a vertical line as indicated at 42 in Fig. 6 at the center of the back, and theimpression is removed from the individual. The edges along the cut 42 are then brought into abutting contact and are securedtogether by means of a strip 43' of tape (Fig. 16') extending from the bottom to the top of the lower impression. A similar strip of this tape is also applied on the inside surface. The parts are also advantageously stapled together to supplement the adhesive; This completes the making of the lower section 29 of the impression and this section is set aside until the upper section is completed.

The upper section of the impression is indicated by numeral 44 and is shown, for example, in Figs. ll-14, the steps in making it being illustrated in Figs. 7-10. The first step in making upper section 44 is to check and adjust the fit of the brassiere so that it will be neither too tight nortoo loose and so that the two sides will be level. A strip of cheesecloth, advantageously 6" in width, is then placed around the customers midriif covering this portion of the torso to slightly below the waist line with a cheesecloth layer 45. This cheesecloth is now bound around the body below the bust with several strips 46 of tape (Fig. 7).

Each of these strips 46 is applied commencing at the front, as shown in Fig. 7, and carried around to the middle of the back, as shown in Fig. 8, just half way encircling the body. A second series of strips 47 is then applied on the opposite side of the body, the ends of these strips overlapping and adhering to the ends of the strips 46 at both the front and back. Next a cheesecloth suspender 48 of six-inch material is then draped over each shoulder, and a double suspender 49 of one-inch strips of tape is then applied over each shoulder, as shown in Figs- 7 -and 8, the lower ends of these strips adhering to the horizontal strips 46 and 47, at both the front and back. In this way the strips 46 and 47 are supported by the suspender strips 48 and 49.

The next step is the application of a section 50 of cheesecloth under, each arm, as shown in Fig. 9. This is held in place by strips 51 of tape, the opposite ends of which extend beyond the cheesecloth and adhere to either the layer or the previously applied strips 46 and 47. Pieces of cheesecloth are are also placed over the busts and shoulder blades and secured in a similar manner with strips of tape. The impression is built up over the busts by encircling or partially encircling the same with strips 52 of 1" tape (Fig. 10), using short pieces 53 (Figs. 11, 25 and 27) to finish E the highest points. Also, the surface of the impression below the busts is built up with 1" tape, as indicated at 54.

The shoulders and neck are next covered with additional pieces 55 and 56 of cheesecloth and 1" tape is applied as indicated at 57 in Fig. 11 to form the neck portion of the impression. More or less vertical strips 58' are applied in overlapping relation over the shoulders on both sides covering all of the area from the outer shoulder portion 59 on each side to the neck. These strips of tape are applied where necessary to build up at least two thicknesses of the tape at all parts from slightly below the waist to the neck.

The tape portions 60 from the waist up to the area beneath the busts are applied in substantially horizontal position and in overlapping relation. These strips 60 are applied over the diaphragm commencing with the strips 46 and 47 which were previously applied beneath the busts and working downwardly to the waist line.

A strip 61 of 1" tag stock is placed around the waist to the exact size dimension given on the measurement sheet and with the lower edge of strip 61 at the waist line. The last or outer layer of tape 60 is overlapped onto this waist line tag strip. The bust measurements halter and spread of the impression are checked with those on the measurement sheet, and also the balance or level position of the high points of the bust are also checked. The neck is now covered with narrow, 3" cheesecloth and the impression around the neck is built up working up from the shoulder as high as possible with strips 57 of tape, as shown in Figs. 12, 13, and 14.

The center is marked on the waist line strip 61 at both the back and the front. Then a vertical center line is marked on the impression from the waist to the neck, and the impression is severed with a pair of scissors and removed from the customer. The cut edges are replaced in contact with one another and secured by both an outer and an inner 1 /2" strip of tape, the outer strip being shown at 62 in Fig. 12. The joint is made additionally secure by means of staples 63 and 64 at the bottom and top, respectively.

The upper impression section 44 is finished by rolling and inserting a strip of 2" wide tag stock to form the neck 65 and securing by means of staples 66 (Fig. 13); also by applying the underarm closures 67, shown in Fig. 15. Each of these closures consists of a sheet of tag stock of elleptical shape and creased along a horizontal line '68. Such a closure piece is then applied underneath each of the outer shoulder portions 59 to close the arm holes. In doing this, a closure portion 67 is folded along fold line 68 to place the upper portion at about right angles to the lower. The upper portion is then stapled to the edge of one of the outer shoulder portions 59 by means of staples 69. The portion of the closure below the fold line 68 is secured in place by means of short pieces 70 of masking tape (Fig. 15).

This completes the making of the separate lower and upper sections of the impression except for the punching, with an awl, or the like, of numerous perforations 71 at various locations of both the lower and upper sections to permit the escape of air when the dress form is poured with the liquid plastic foam composition after the two sections have been secured together.

The next step in the making of the dress form is the preparation of the formation, or cone 72, the purpose of which is to reduce the volume of the interior of the form and thus the quantity of plastic foam composition required. This is done by rolling a sheet of light weight tag stock paper into the form of a cone, or a truncated cone, using a sheet in the neighborhood of 24 inches by 36 inches in size. The top of the cones should be located about 6 inches above the waist line. i

The cone thus rolled is inserted inside the lower or hip section 29 of the waist form and adjusted so that there is at least of an inch between the surface of the cone and the waistline all around. Then the overlapped edges of the cone are stapled together as indicated at 73 in Fig. 16. Similar staples (not shown) are also placed at the bottom of the cone. The bottom edge 74 of the lower section 29 is now traced on the surface of the cone and the cone is removed, the trace line being indicated by numeral 75.

One inch notches 76 spaced about 2 inches apart are cut around the bottom of the cone using the line 75 as a guide. That is, the bottoms of the notches should extend to this line, and any excess paper stock more than about one inch below this line should be trimmed off. The cone is now replaced in the lower section 29 and forced upwardly until the projections 77 between the notches are bent so as to lie flat against the interior surface of the base member 30 of the lower impression section 29.

In other words, the projections 77 bend to fit the cylindrical inner surface of base 30. The cone is forced up until the lower edges of the projections are even with the lower edge of base 30, and about four staples 78 are placed around the periphery to hold the parts in position while a supporting wire or ring 79 is prepared. This wire is cut to fit the inside lower portion of the impression section 29, is then bent into the form of a circle and its ends overlapped and secured together by means of a friction clip 80.

The wire is then covered with a 1 /2 inch width strip of tape, the tape being folded about the wire as shown in Fig. 19 so as to extend about of an inch from the wire all around. This tape is then notched to form a series of projections 81 somewhat similar to projections 77. These projections 81 are cut away at two diametrically opposite points of wire 79 in order to enable a sheet metal cross member 82 to be placed in position. This member has an aperture 83 in it at its center to receive a supporting rod 84 for the dress form. Its opposite ends 85 are bent so as to clamp the wire 79 as shown in Figs. 21 and 25.

The thus assembled wire 79, notched tape and cross support 82 are now placed in position at the bottom of the assembled cone and impression section 29 as shown in Fig. 17. Wire 79 is placed about /2 inch from the bottom of section 29 and the three parts, namely, the tape projections 81, the cone projections 77, and the tag base 30 are now securely stapled together throughout their periphery using heavy staples as indicated at 86.

In order to facilitate the assembly of the lower end and upper sections 29 and 44 of the impression and to properly adjust the dimensions of the form and support it during the operation of filling with the liquid plastic foam composition, a rack shown in Figs. 22-24 may be used. This rack comprises a platform 87 mounted on casters so as to be easily moved about and provided with two upright members 88 mounted in fixed position on the opposite sides of base 87 and extending upwardly therefrom in parallel position.

Held by these two uprights 88, there are three pairs of supporting and dimensioning blocks for the dress form. The purpose of these is to support and, if necessary, compress the portions of the impression sections 29 and 44 so as to correspond with the body thickness dimensions shown on the measurement sheet. Thus the lowermost blocks 89 are adjusted to measurement 3(0) of the measurement chart which is the body thickness of the customer at the lower hip. The intermediate blocks 90 are set at measurement 3( b) which is the body thickover during the final filling operation.

ness at the Waist, and the uppermost blocks 91 are set at the body thickness center bust measurement.

These supporting and dimensioning blocks are mounted for adjustment both horizontally and vertically, except that the lowermost blocks 89 are adjustable only in the horizontal direction. For this purpose blocks 89 are mounted on rods 92 which are adjustable in apertures in the respective uprights 88. They are secured in adjusted position by thumb screws 93.

The intermediate blocks 90 are mounted on the inner ends of rods 94 which are similarly adjustable by means of thumb screws 95, and in turn the brackets 96 which support rods 94 are adjustable vertically in slots in the respective uprights 88 and are secured in adjusted position by means of thumb screws 97. The support and adjustment of the uppermost blocks 91 are identical with those of blocks 90, and the detail description just given is believed sufficient.

Returning now to the preparation of the dress form, the lower section 29 of the impression is placed on platform 87 of the supporting rack just described, and supporting rod 84 is placed within the cone 72, its lower end being received in a recess 98 in platform 87. Then the open upper end of cone 72 is sealed around the rod 84 by means of a mass 99 of fibrous material, such as crushed newspaper.

This is forced into the top of the cone around the rod in such a way as to force the normally circular top of the cone into the form of an ellipse, leaving a substantially uniform space between the surface of the cone and the upper edge of the impression 29, the blocks 90 having previously been set at the proper dimension as previously described and thereby forcing the upper edge of the impression into the form of an ellipse. The mass of fibrous material 99 is enlarged somewhat beyond that necessary to seal the top of cone 72 so as to further reduce the volume within the body of the dress form. The fibrous material is sealed both to the top of the cone and to the supporting rod 84 by the use of tape (not shown).

The upper section 44 of the impression is now placed in position on top of the lower section 29, the upper section telescoping over the lower at the waist as indicated at Fig. 26; The centers of both sections front and back are matched by means of the markings previously placed upon both, and the two sections may be temporarily held together with the aid of push pins so that the trimmed waistline of the upper section is 'above the crayon waistline of the lower or hip section.

The two sections are now secured together by means of short pieces 100 of one inch tape placed vertically and diagonally, the push pins thereafter being removed. If desired, the blocks 90 may be released during this operation, but they should now be reset in position according to the measurement on the measurement chart. Also, the uppermost pair of blocks 91 should be set to measurement 3(a) on the measurement sheet so as to hold the upper impression section 44 at the correct body thickness. Then a quantity of the plastic foam composition is prepared in liquid form sufiicient in amount to fill about /2 of the interior of the complete dress formimpression or shell, and is poured into the shell through the neck 65. When allowed to cure in situ for about 45 minutes, the impression will be filled about to the diaphragm with plastic foam.

A protector 101 (Fig. 24) of heavy paper is now placed around the neck 65 in order to protect the exterior of the dress form should some of the liquid foam spill The remaining quantity of plastic foam composition is now prepared and poured into the form to fill it substantially to the neck so as to yield additional plastic foam and thus produce the 'interiorunitary body 1020f plastic foam as shown in Fig. 26. A piece of sheet material such as cardboard maybe held over the neck 65 for a few seconds while the material is foaming so as to build upa slight amount of internal pressure which will force the composition to' completely fill the various portionsxof the impression. Also, this will aid in expelling any air which may have become trapped. After about one hour, the dress form may be removed from the supporting frame or rack, but it is not advisable to proceed with finishing the form until after at least 12 hours.

In finishing the dress form, the underarm closures 67 are stripped off and the flanges containing staples 69 are trimmed away so that the shoulders will appear as shown in Fig. 26, where the surface of the plastic foam material 102, which now fills the complete impression, will be exposed underneath the shoulder portions 59. Tape can be added where necessary for smoothness at the junction of the surface of the impression and the plastic foam. 6

Any excess plastic foam, or foamed plastic, at the neck line is cut away and strips 103 of tape are added to cover the neck, producing a smooth finish. Any imperfections or rough places on the surface of the dress form may be built up or corrected by adding short pieces of tape, or with the aid of bits of paper toweling held in place by tape.

A part 104 of the left shoulder portion 59 (Fig. 27) is removed by severing with a knife along surface 107 from the armpit to a point between the shoulder and neck 65. A suitable recess is made in one of the cut surfaces of the shoulder part 104, and a small permanent magnet 105 is inserted and secured in place by a means of a split pin 106 and with the aid of a suitable adhesive. Also, a recess is cut in the plastic foam in surface 107 and a plate 108 of magnetizable'rnetal is secured in such recess by means of adhesive.

Short strips of tape 109 are added around the edges of surface 107 to hold down the edges of the material of the impression. The shoulder part 104 when held in position with the aid of magnet 105 cooperating with metal plate 108. leaves the two shoulder portions 59 symmetrical, but the part 104 can be manually separated from its shoulder portion to allow a garment to be placed on or removed from the dress form.

The next operation is that of applying a layer of flock, and this may be done as shown in Fig. 28. A rack is provided having two upright supports 110 and 111. These may be mere wooden blocks with two spaced nails 112 driven into the upper end of each. The supporting rod 84 is used to support one end of the dress form on one of these blocks, and an awl or ice pick 113 may be driven into the plastic foam of the neck portion to serve temporarily as a support for the opposite end of the dress form.

A suitable adhesive is brushed or sprayed on the dress form, the form being rotated on the supports 110 and 111 during this application. Thereafter, the flock is applied evenly over the surface of the dress form by shaking it through a suitable strainer 114 while the dress form is rotated by hand. The application of the adhesive and the flock to the removable shoulder section or part 104 is done separately.

After allowing about 12 hours for the adhesive to thoroughly dry, the dress form is removed from the rack and placed on a conventional supporting stand (not shown) being mounted thereon by the supporting rod 84 and its adjusting screw 115 (Fig. 2). The final finishing operation is that of placing the seam and construction guides 116 and the waistline 117. These may be made of any suitable braid, for example, a soutache braid and grosgrain ribbon, respectively. These are secured in position by means of number 5 pins pushed straight into the form. V i

I claim:

1. A dress form comprising a shell structure extending from thelower hips to the neck, a portion of s aid shell structure surrounding the lower hips comprising a circumferential base member extending about one-half the distance from the lower hips to the waist and consisting of a single thickness of sheet material sufiiciently still to be self-sustaining but sufficiently flexible to conform to the configuration of the body, the remainder of said shell structure being made up of strips of pressuresensitive tape having a thin fiexible protective layer adhering thereto, the lower portions of said tape being adhesively secured to the outer surface of said base memher, and said tape strips being applied to build up a flexible shell structure at least two layers in thickness and extending to the neck.

2. The dress form as set forth in claim 1 wherein the upper edge of said base member is provided throughout with substantially equally spaced V-shaped notches to enable said member to expand somewhat so as to conform to the surface of the body and whereby the upper edge of said member is prevented from showing through the overlying layers of the adhesive tape.

3. A semi-completed dress form comprising a flexible shell structure, the lower portion of which includes a cylindrical base member of sheet material which is sufliciently stiff to be self-sustaining, and a conical member within said shell structure, the lower marginal edge of said conical member having notches cut therein forming a series of projections extending around its periphery, said projections being bent to fit the interior cylindrical surface of said sheet base member, and means for attaching said projections to the contiguous portion of the base member to secure the conical member in position within said shell.

4. A dress form including a shell structure extending from the lower hips to the neck, a portion of said shell structure surrounding the lower hips comprising a circumferential base member extending about one-half the distance from the lower hips to the waist and consisting of a single thickness of sheet material sufiiciently stifi to be self-sustaining, the remainder of said shell structure being made up of strips of pressure-sensitive tape having a thin flexible protective layer adhering to the interior thereof, the lower portions of said tape being adhesively secured to the outer surface of said base member, and said tape strips being applied to build up a flexible shell structure at least two layers in thickness and extending to the neck, a conical member of sheet material sufiiciently stiff to be self-sustaining disposed within said shell structure with the base thereof substantially fitting the interior of the lower portion of said base member, said conical member having integral projections extending downwardly throughout its periphery and lying against the interior surface of said base member, and means for attaching said projections to said base member.

5. A dress form including a shell structure extending from the lower hips to the neck, a portion of said shell structure surrounding the lower hips comprising a circumferential base member extending about one-half the distance from the lower hip to the waist and consisting of a single thickness of sheet material sufliciently stifi to be self-sustaining, the remainder of said shell structure being made up of strips of pressure-sensitive tape 10 having a thin flexible protective layer adhering to the interior thereof, the lower portions of said tape being adhesively secured to the outer surface of said base memher, and said tape strips being applied to build up a flexible shell structure at least two layers in thickness and extending to the neck, a conical member of sheet material sufl'lciently stiff to be self-sustaining disposed within said shell structure with the base thereof substantially fitting the interior of the lower portion of said base memher, said conical member having integral projections extending downwardly throughout its periphery and lying against the interior surface of said base member, means for attaching said projections to said base member, and a continuous supporting ring fitting the interior of the projections on said conical member, and means for securing said ring to said conical member and said base member.

6. A dress form as set forth in claim 5 having additionally a supporting cross bar arranged to bridge the diameter of said supporting ring, and means for securing the opposite ends of said cross bar to said ring.

7. A dress form as set forth in claim 5 wherein said supporting ring is covered throughout its length with a strip of tape folded along its center line and with the side edge portions thereof in engagement with one another and having spaced projections extending throughout the periphery thereof, and means for securing said projections to the projections on the conical member and to the lower .periphery of said base member.

8. A dress form including a shell structure extending from the lower hips to the neck, a portion of said shell structure surrounding the lower hips comprising a circumferential base member extending about one-half the distance from the lower hips to the waist and consisting of a single thickness of sheet material sufiiciently stiff to be self-sustaining, the remainder of said shell structure being made up of strips of pressure-sensitive tape having a thin-flexible protective layer adhering to the interior thereof, the lower portions of said tape being adhesively secured to the outer surface of said base member, and said tape strips being applied to build up a flexible shell structure at least two layers in thickness and extending to the neck, a conical member of sheet material sufficiently stifi to be self-sustaining disposed within said shell structure with the base thereof substantially fitting the interior of the lower portion of said base member, and means for securing together said base member and the base of said conical member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,436,500 Herbert Nov. 21, 1922 1,447,372 Bailey Mar. 6, 1923 2,151,017 Dorrer Mar. 21, 1939 2,319,292 Boggs May 18, 1943 2,533,906 Akers Dec. 12, 1950 2,610,773 Nyberg Sept. 16, 1952 2,657,843 Wiesner Nov. 3, 1953 2,724,532 Baldwin Nov. 22, 1955 2,727,278 Thompson Dec. 20, 1955 2,855,021 Hoppe Oct. 7, 1958 

